Preparation of layered nanofiber sponge with an improved capacity for promoting wound healing

Effective bleeding control and wound healing are very important and can be life saving. However, traditional wound dressings have structural deficiencies making them not so effective for controlling bleeding and regeneration promotion of tissues. The aim of this research project is to obtain

Project Title

Preparation of layered nanofiber sponge with an improved capacity for promoting wound healing

Project Area of Specialization

Biomedical Engineering

Project Summary

Effective bleeding control and wound healing are very important and can be life saving.

However, traditional wound dressings have structural deficiencies making them not so effective for controlling bleeding and regeneration promotion of tissues. The aim of this research project is to obtain a 3D layered nanofibrous sponge that will be expanded by 2D nanofiber membranes into 3 rd dimension. This will have a nanofiber layered structure, which will in turn increase the interaction of sponge and blood cells to promote hemostasis. This 3D sponge will acquire beneficial properties for wound healing i.e. good elasticity, permeability and fluid absorption ratio with the help of fine tuning. It will be easy to produce and will posse’s great potential for clinical applications such as wound healing.

Based on this goal, layered nanofiber sponges are obtained by combining electrospinning and are tested for their use as wound-healing and hemostatic agents. The layered nanofiber sponge is composed of chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), which have good biocompatibility. The positive charge of the amino groups in chitosan synergizes with the negative charge of platelets to accelerate hemostasis.

Project Objectives

The following are the objectives to be achieved.

1. Preparation of layered 3D nanofiber sponge design using Chitosan(CS) ,Vinyl alcohol.,Sodium borohydride And acetic acid.
2. Expansion of two dimensional (2D) into three dimensional (3D) layered nanofiber sponge.

Project Implementation Method

To  prepare the nanofibers,CS(Chitosan) will be disolved using acetic acid and PVA(poly vinyl alcohol) will be dissolved in deionized water,then both these chemicals will be mixed and transferred into a syringe.The syringe will be attached with a electrospinning setup(with a grounded collector), Then the mixture of CS and PVA  will thus pump out and 1mm thick sections of nanofibers would be harvested from the collector,To improve the stability, nanofiber membranes will be cross-linked in a dessiccator,after that the membranes would be subjected to vacuum-oven drying for few days , The 2D nanofiber membranes will be kept in seal bags after drying. Than these membranes will be cutted into 2 cm × 2 cm squares and immersed into a NaBH4 solution. The samples will be taken out from the NaBH4 solution after complete expansion in the third dimension. The expanded CS-PVA nanofibers will be washed thrice with deionized water. Then, the expanded nanofibers would be placed in deionized water and exposed to vacuum for 3 s to remove the trapped bubbles. In the end, the expanded nanofibers would be washed again many times. The 3D CS-PVA nanofiber sponges will be placed in a refrigerator at ?20 °C to make it solid, and then would be transferred to a vacuum freeze dryer. The dried sponges will be taken out after one day, and 3D layered nanofiber sponges will be obtained.

Benefits of the Project

Some of the benefits that can be achieved from the implementation of this project are:

• This layered 3D nano-sponge design is easy to produce.
• Due to its excellent wound healing property this porous nano fiber sponge has great potential for future clinical application as wound dressing.
• The 3D layered nano fiber sponge is an ideal candidate to replace wound dressing as it has good potential for clinical applications.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

1. Scanning electron microscopy.

The physical morphology of the 2D nanofiber membranes and 3D

nanofiber sponges will be observed by scanning electron microscopy,

               and the acceleration voltage would be set as 3 kV. Prior to SEM scanning,

               a thin layer of gold will  be sputtered onto the sample; which would prevent

               abnormal charging.

  

1. Thickness and porosity.

The thickness of the 3D nanofiber sponge will be measured by using a

Vernier caliper at 0 min, 10 min, when the concentration of NaBH4

solution would be at 0.1 M or 1 M.  

1. Liquid absorption.

We will select the 3D nanofiber sponges that would be foamed for 0 min,

10 min, 30 min, 1 h, and 2 h in 0.1 M NaBH4 solution to test their ab-

sorption ratios. A salt solution that closely resembles the composition of

body fluids will be prepared; this solution would comprise of  NaCl solution

and CaCl2 solution. Each sample will be completely immersed in the

salt solution, after which the excess liquid would be removed and the sample

 will be weighed.The difference between each sample would be the foaming time

(thickness); measurements for each sample it will be recorded five times.

1. Elasticity and stretchability.

The mechanical properties of the 2D CS/PVA nanofiber membrane

and 3D CS/PVA nanofiber sponge will be measured by using a mechanical

testing equipment.The 3D nanofiber sponge will be subjected to a cyclic

compression test with 50 loading–unloading fatigue cycles at a large

compressive strain. The 2D nanofiber membrane and 3D nanofiber sponge

 will than be cutted into a strip-like shape,and stress versus strain curves

 of tension will be obtained at a crosshead speed of 10mm/min.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Health

Other Industries

Others

Core Technology

Others

Other Technologies

NeuroTech

Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being for People

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com